Stairway step



July 21, 1931. WOOLDR|DGE Y 1,815,126

STAIRWAY STEP Filed Jan. 10. 1930' Patented July 21, 1931 nire sTaTes PATENT orrice CHARLES L. WOOLDRIDGE, E PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 CHARLES L. WOOLDRIDG'E, INC., 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA STAIRWAY STEP Application filed January 10, 1930.

My invention pertains to stairway steps and to blocks for use in constructing the same. Wear of the steps of stairways of public buildings and the like is exceedingly rapid, and moreover, is non-uniform, being most pronounced, of course, at the parts of the steps which are exposed to the greatest traffic, usually the parts adjacent hand rails and the like. Where, as is common, the treads of such steps are constituted by slabs of slate, marble, Alberene stone, cast iron and the like, the usual remedy for such wear is to replace the entire slab, though sometimes, for the first ren pair, the slab is taken out and replaced with the other side uppermost. Stairway steps made up of bricks do not satisfactorily meet the diiculty. Bricks are not of a length sufficient to produce the required width of step, Y nor are they of a width suiicient to produce the required height of step. Consequently, when steps have been made up of bricks it has been necessary to arrange two or more bricks, or a brick and a partial brick, endwise, in order to give the required width of the step, and also to provide some means, such as partial bricks, to build the step up to the required height. rIhis has necessitated much trouble and expense both in laying the bricks to produce the step and in taking out the bricks and re-laying others when the stepis to be repaired after wear has taken place. Moreover, the necessary endwise joints between the bricks has necessitated special sup- Y ports beneath such joints.

It is the principal object of my invention to produce a stairway step in which the liability to wear is reduced to a minimum, and in which repairs and replacements can be readily made and will only be necessary at that particular part of the step at which wear actually occurs. In attaining this object I constitute the step of a plurality of blocks each of which is of a length somewhat greater than the desired width of tread oi. the step and of a Width corresponding to the desired height of the step. These blocks are of a relatively small thickness and are set on edge side by side to form the step.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a block for use in producing a step of Serial No. 419,886.

the above character which will be economical of manufacture and easy to lay, in the construction of the step, and which, further, will facilitate the construction of a stairway having neat and strong joints between the blocks and having such desirable character'- istics as rounded coves between the treads of the steps and the risers of the steps next above them, rounded noses for the steps, etc.

'A stairway step constructed in accordance with my invention is described, by way of example, in the followingspeciiication and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a section through one of the steps; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a vportion of the stairway.

Referring now to the drawings, each step is made up of a plurality of blocks 10, either solid or cored out, which are oil a length somewhat greater than the desired width of the step, of a width something less than the required height of the step, and of a relatively small thickness. For example, to give astairway having steps the tread of which is twelve inches long and the height of which is somewhat overl six inches, the blocks 10 may be fourteen inches long, five and a half inches high, and two and a half inches wide. rIhey are set on edge, side by side, to constitute the step.

Each block'lO is formed, across its lower part adjacent the front end, with a groove 11 and is provided, on its upper part at the rear end, with an upwardly extending ledge 12 having formed across the same a groove 13. The ledge 12 may be two inches in width to give the required tread length of twelve inches and joins the upper or tread part of the block by means of a iillet 14. The outer corner of the block is rounded, as indicated at 15.Y

The first step is made up of a number of blocks l() disposed side by side with their iront ends resting on a suitable support, such as a floor, and their rear ends laid, in mortar or the like 16, in a suitable member such as a transverse angle iron 17. In constructing the next step mortar 18 or the like is laid upon the ledges 12 of the blocks of the lirst step so as to enter the grooves 13 in such ledge, and also the grooves 11 in the blocks of the neXt step when such blocks are put in place. The front ends of the blocks of the second step then rest upon the ledges 12 or' the irst step, while the rear ends of such blocks of the second step are mounted by mortar or the like in another support member such as 17. The lillets 14: form sanitary coves at the bases of the risers, while the rounded corners 15 ren sult in rounded front edges of the steps.

The blocks 10 being of relatively small volu-me can economically be made of concrete, terra cotta, hard burned brick, or other material especially chosen for its wear resisting properties, with the result that the liability of the step to wear is less than is ordinarily the case. lVhe-n wear does take place, the step can be repaired at a relatively small cost by simply removing those particular blocks which have become worn, which will usually be the blocks adjacent a hand rail or the like. The stairway step of my invention attains the above advantages, which result from the use of the relatively small individual blocks, whilst retaining economy in the construction of the step and requiring only one support for each step of the stairway. By my invention I am also enabled to provide, in a stairway made up of individual blocks of relatively small size, such desirable characteristics as a rounded corner between the riser and tread of each step and a rounded sanitary cove bef tween the tread of each step and the riser of the step next succeeding it. By reason of the grooved construction, the blocks are securely held in place, with nea-t and relatively narrow joints, but can be readily removed individually for repair purposes.

I claim:

1. A block for use in stairway construction, said block being of Vrelatively small width to permit a number t-o be assembled` to constitute a step and being of a length greater than the desired width of the stairway tread and said block being for-med with a recess in one face adjacent one end and with a second recess in the opposite face adjacent the opposite end, whereby the recess at one end of a block will register with the recess at the other end of a block of the next succeeding step, to receive a binding substance.

2. A block for use in stairway construction, said block being of relatively small width to permit a number to be assembled to constitute a step and being of a length greater than the desired width of the stairway tread andV said block being formed with an upwardly extending ledge at one end for supporting the opposite end of a block of the next succeeding step, and being further formed with a recess in said ledge and with a second recess 1n the side opposite to said ledge and at the CHARLES L. WOOLDRIDGE. 

